


To Be A Friend - DA Inquisition One-Shot

by Aneth_Stripes



Series: Dragon Age - Fractured Timelines [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Multi, the inquisitor needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26550226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aneth_Stripes/pseuds/Aneth_Stripes
Summary: To just be there means more than one can say. Spoilers for second half of the game.-If this one-shot is a little confusing, it's just me taking Female!Adaar and having her be a bodyguard for a Female!Trevelyan. And boy oh boy does Trevelyan need a hug after a trip to the fade. But she's not the only one who needs a talking to.
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Female Adaar/The Iron Bull (Dragon Age), Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Series: Dragon Age - Fractured Timelines [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1917967
Kudos: 5





	To Be A Friend - DA Inquisition One-Shot

_“I won’t let Ferelden lose its king!”_

It’d been ten minutes, maybe twenty, maybe more. Her back ached from being hunched over for so long, but the Inquisitor couldn’t willingly lift her head. 

_“Hawke, wait!”_

Everything around her felt heavier and heavier, threatening to break her in half. Aneth Trevelyan was looked upon to make decisions and see to it that ends were met and battles were won but this...this was too much. 

_“Tell Varric I’m sorry!”_

Hawke was gone, possibly dead because of her. The look on Varric’s face shattered her; he was a treasured friend, and she repaid his loyalty to the cause with one of the oldest friends he had. 

_“Where’s Hawke?”_

Her twin brother was in ruins, unable to keep his distraught hidden as he spat in her face. 

_“You left her!”_

Trevelyan was no leader, no Inquisitor. Yet Alistair was still alive. Broken, but living. She saved a life, but at what cost? She hadn’t even decided before the brave warrior threw herself at the terrifying creature blocking their way. There was no time to drag her back, no time to think. 

_“It’s now or never, don’t let her sacrifice be in vain!”_

But it was all in vain, now wasn’t it? The poor thing couldn’t lift her head to greet her advisors who had come up to her room when she hadn’t shown up at the war table. She could hear Adaar’s voice raising as her patience thinned out. All the voices blended in and she hugged her body, unable to come to enough to speak up. 

Leliana and Cullen were attempting to talk battleplans, they must have been, and she faintly heard Cassandra and Josephine speaking, but nothing fully reached her ears. The noise became louder and louder until someone touched her shoulder. 

“Enough!” 

Eleanor Adaar’s voice reached elevations that damn near shook the furniture and rattled the windows. Trevelyan jumped and raised her head, eyes wide as she stared at her friend. She’d never heard Adaar’s voice reach such an elevation before!

The Tal Vashoth took a deep breath as she stared down the set of shocked advisors down. “Now that we’re all calm, I need you all to leave. Now.” Cullen looked as if he were about to protest but relented upon looking at Aneth’s broken expression. He left, reluctantly, leaving the two alone. 

Exhaling, the warrior sat beside her leader on the bed. “I apologize for yelling.” 

“No...no, it’s okay.” Trevelyan sighed and covered her face, struggling not to cry. The chill wind hit her body, setting all of her nerves afire. It was welcomed; she felt damn near overwhelmed. 

No one needed to be around her, not while she didn’t have it together. Everyone was counting on her to be strong, to be there when they needed her. She had to pull herself together, she was the Inquisitor!

Yet all she saw were Hawke’s big silver eyes as she condemned her to what might have been a painful death. She led the woman who had been through far too much straight into Hell and left her brother alone. Her chest constricted as tears spilled from her eyes. It was so much...too much. Maker, what was she going to do? How could she move on from this?

“It’s okay to cry, Inquisitor.” Adaar smiled down at her kindly, rubbing her back. “Just let it out.” 

That was all it took. Aneth’s posture slumped against the mercenary as she cried, unable to hold back the wails that slipped past her lips. Eleanor let her, rubbing her shoulder gently as her brown hair covered up her face. 

Trevelyan had too much on her shoulder, Adaar knew this. She knew that the woman needed a shoulder to cry on after being in the Fade. There was so much down there that it was overwhelming; Adaar wasn’t quite sure if she had dreamt it all or not. It was too much to think about. Leaving Hawke...it must have taken a toll on Aneth. 

The two didn’t know each other very well at first but that had changed, and damn but Eleanor hated seeing her friend like this. “You’re going to be alright,” she spoke softly.

“Am I?” her voice was so broken and it startled the mercenary. 

“You will,” she insisted calmly, hugging Aneth firmly. Her cries lessened but her body felt lifeless still. 

“I...may I be alone for a little bit? Please?”

How could she say no to that? Trevelyan looked as if she needed a rest regardless. “Of course.” She stood and smiled down at her friend. “I’ll be in the tavern if you need me.” Aneth nodded her head but said nothing in return. Withholding a sigh, Eleanor left the mage be and turned away. 

Adaar had meant to go to the tavern but the thoughts of her friend had weighed on her too much. She herself needed to be alone, if just for a moment. The Vashoth wandered the halls and found herself on the walls of Skyhold. It was a slow walk; thoughtful and worrisome. Aneth was a gentle soul from the moment she met her; eager to have new recruits, but more than that, eager to have a friend. 

Despite all the unique individuals around her, Trevelyan had felt alone for a long time. She heard of her story, of how she ran from the Circle to keep from dying at the hands of templars, how one had scarred the right side of her face over her eye. 

What kind of monster would do that to someone as thoughtful and merciful as the Inquisitor? It bothered, no, it angered Adaar. So many people had their thoughts on who Aneth was when deep down, she was sad, lonely, and tired. 

Or, was. Ever since saving the mages and moving to Skyhold, her companions around her became her friends...and one had even become her lover. Adaar took a deep breath as her body relaxed. Even she had become fast friends with Trevelyan; she respected a resilient woman and enjoyed Trevelyan’s company overall. 

Though it felt like a lot rid on Aneth’s shoulders, she did have support. But she needed to rest after the Fade. To have her memories back, her fears thrown in front of her face, to be laughed at and lose a good woman...even that would have broken Adaar. She blamed herself for not being there for Aneth in those last few moments. Perhaps it could have been her instead of Hawke.

It didn’t matter now; nothing could change the course of how things were. She hadn’t even realized her hands were shaking until her fingers finally grasped each other. Eleanor had to take a deep breath; even though she could not shake the events of the Fade, she could control how she reacted to it. 

“Inquisitor?” 

The Tal Vashoth turned to face Cullen, brows knit together in concern as he openly read her face and body language. “I uh…” He sighed and joined her side, resting his arms on the stone railing. “You look like you could use a friend to talk to.” 

“Heh, do I look that distraught, Commander?” 

He chuckled and shook his head. “Perhaps. I thought you would tear my head off back there.” 

“I considered it,” she playfully jibed, chuckling as she crossed her arms. “You and the rest of those advisors can be overwhelming when you want to, no offense.” 

“None taken,” he replied, waving her away. “Perhaps we should have given the Inquisitor some time to breathe. Is…” He frowned before his expression saddened. “Is she alright?” 

“The Fade,” Eleanor sighed, “that godforsaken place took a toll on everyone who went in there. Aneth needs some time to recover from it, so I suggest it be given to her.” 

Cullen thought about her words for a moment before sighing and leaning up. “You’re not wrong. How are you faring with all of this?” 

“Me?” Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think how I felt mattered about anything, and either way I’ll be alright.” Okay, that was a bit of a lie. Although she was for all intents and purposes the Inquisitor’s bodyguard, she often found herself at the war table among others. Trevelyan trusted her word alongside Cullen’s when it came to combat, though she occasionally made a joke to keep tensions down. 

To say that she was fine, however...that was most certainly a lie. The slight scowl on Cullen’s face told him as much. “Bullshit.” Cullen’s eyes narrowed as he tilted his head to her. “ _‘I’ll be alright’_ doesn’t mean damn near taking the war room’s door off its hinges after we returned to Skyhold.” 

Oh, Hell, she forgot about that. 

His expression softened. “Bodyguard or no, we’re friends. If you can make me a priority then Maker help me, I can make you one.” 

Adaar laughed at this. She and Cullen didn’t have much in common, but when they worked together on the battlefield, they were a force to be reckoned with. There were a few times she helped him, and he helping her in return. Maybe at some point, they might have liked each other to a larger degree, but Andraste clearly had their hearts set for another. 

She valued his friendship above all else and she wouldn’t change what had happened. 

Not that she minded; Bull was everything she had hoped for in a man, and more. “You always had a way with words, didn’t you?” She asked, wiping her eyes as feeling some of the tension in her core leave. 

“It’s either a gift or a curse,” he admitted with a gentle shrug of his shoulders. “I...can tell you’re still very shaken up about what happened. If you really don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you, but that doesn’t mean you should be shutting yourself out.” Cullen shook his head. “You may be a public figure alongside Aneth, but that doesn’t make you infallible. You’re still human after all, well, you know, on the inside.” 

Adaar laughed and Cullen shook his head and threw up his hands as he stood upright. “Never mind, I take it back!” 

“No, please continue!” Her shoulders shook as she struggled to get a hold of herself. “I just- sorry, I can’t-!” Her body shook as deep giggles wracked her body.

“For crying out loud-!” Cullen snorted and shook his head. “This is why I leave the pep-talks to you, whatever charms I might have only taken me so far.” 

The warrior released a deep giggle, finally regaining some control of her body. “You’re alright, Cullen. I think I needed that.” She wasn’t about to deny he helped her; her thoughts were a little less overwhelming now; her chest didn’t feel like Hell so that was an improvement. “Sorry about the door.”

“I know it wasn’t intentional,” he remarked, turning around to relax against the stone as he placed his hands in front of him. “It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure. The battle has worn everyone out and we have Corypheus running with his tail tucked between his legs.”

“At the expense of a good warrior,” Eleanor said, messing with her stark white hair. “I should have stayed behind. When we all ran-” she paused, gritting her teeth before continuing, “-when we ran, I thought she was right behind me. I could have stayed, could have kept the Hawke siblings together. I didn’t do my job and now the Inquisitor and Varric mourn.” Adaar closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “No one deserves a fate like that, Cullen.” 

He didn’t speak up for a moment. “I know. If it means anything to you, you did what you could. No one would figure Hawke to throw herself at the enemy like that. Well, perhaps I did. In the end, she knew what was important and put all her wants and desires to the side.” Cullen frowned. “She’d always been that way, her and her brother back in Kirkwall. I respect their perseverance. Perhaps...she has the same luck Aneth has. Perhaps she’ll keep alive.” 

That idea was a longshot, and yet Eleanor couldn’t help but hope Hawke was alive. Maybe they could find a way to go back and get her out of there, but at the moment, nothing was certain. “Perhaps you’re right.” She smiled and turned to him. “Thank you for speaking with me.” 

“Never a problem,” he replied with an easy smile. “Perhaps I should buy you a drink at some point? Er, granted that it doesn’t get your lover rallied and ready to kill me.” Cullen shuddered, leading Adaar to smirk. 

“He would never,” she promised, “he already knows where I stand with him...and now I feel. There’s nothing wrong with a drink between friends.” 

“Good, I should hope so. Seeing his...package alone was enough to scar me into the next life.” He shuddered and playfully glared at Eleanor as she laughed. “What?! How was I supposed to know that it was a bad time to walk in?”

“Knock next time!” She nudged him again, gentler this time, before turning and shaking her head. “Honestly, it’s like you were planning for that to happen.” 

“Of all the memories I could take away,” Cullen muttered as he rubbed his forehead. “I apologize about that...again.” 

Adaar shrugged easy. “No harm, no foul.” 

“Good,” he muttered with a grimace. His expression then softened as he looked up at her. “If you don’t mind, I uh, would like to check up on the Inquisitor now, if that’s alright.” He was trying to hide how eager he was to see his beloved again; he wouldn’t say, but after the trip, she took into the fade, he’d been overly worried about her, struggling to express it without it getting in the way of their jobs. 

Adaar laughed and nudged him hard enough to make him stumble. “Get out of here and check on your mate, Commander.” 

“Ser, yes Ser,” he replied with a chuckle, regaining his balance as he tried and failed not to run off. The mercenary smiled and shook her head, watching him leave. He would treat Aneth well, for both their sakes. She would hate to get arrested for beating up a former templar after all. What were friends for, after all?


End file.
